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July 2016 EDITORIAL ANDREA D. PHILLOTT1,2 1 Co-editor, Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter 2Asian University for Women, Chittagong, Bangladesh [email protected] Welcome to Issue 24 of IOTN, in which papers describe Peru, in April 2016, we encourage you to read the threats to sea turtles, including entanglement of adult International Sea Turtle Society’s President’s Report turtles in fshing gear and potential destruction of for highlights of the symposium. Te 2017 symposium nests by vegetation and ants, and an update from the will be held in Las Vegas, USA, and we recommend Students Sea Turtle Conservation Network in India. Also that those planning to attend apply for an ISTS travel described is a new book about sea turtle conservation grant to reduce travel costs. IOTN24 also reports on a in India by IOTN founding editor, Kartik Shanker. workshop on the ecology and conservation of sea turtles in the Persian Gulf. Organisers of future conferences and As distance prevented many from South and South workshops in the Indian Ocean region are encouraged to East Asia from attending the 36th Annual Symposium advertise their event and report its outcomes in IOTN. on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation held in Lima, CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS The Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter was initiated to provide a forum for the exchange of information on sea turtle biology and conservation, management and education and awareness activities in the Indian subcontinent, Indian Ocean region, and south/southeast Asia. If you would like to submit a research article, project profile, note or announcement for Issue 25 of IOTN, please email material to [email protected] before 1st November 2016. Guidelines for submission can be found on the last page of this newsletter or at http://www.iotn.org/submission.php. 1 Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter No. 24 ARTICLES THREATS TO OLIVE RIDLEY TURTLES ON THE SUNDARBANS COAST OF BANGLADESH MD. ABDUL AZIZ Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom [email protected] Marine turtles demonstrate continued population A feld survey from December 2015 to March 2016 for decline across their ranges due to an array of natural a tiger study allowed an opportunistic survey for sea and anthropogenic threats. Treats are pervasive turtles on several isolated beaches in the Sundurbans, because turtles share multiple geographical localities from Mandarbaria in the west to Dimer char in the east and habitats (Márquez, 1990) and are ofen afected (approximately 11km of coastline) (Figure 1). Beaches by both direct and indirect factors, including were examined for indications of turtle nesting, fshing incidental capture in fshing nets, direct exploitation, activities on beaches and nearby coastal waters, remains or disturbance to nesting areas (Pandav et al., 1997). of dead turtles, and beach erosion. Interviews with Consequently, marine turtle species are listed with 14 fshermen in Dublar char fshing village were also diferent level of endangerment in the wild (IUCN, 2016). conducted. Five species of marine turtles are recorded from the No signs of sea turtle nesting on the islands surveyed were coastal waters of Bangladesh: the olive ridley, green, observed during our brief study. However, nine dead olive hawksbill, loggerhead and leatherback turtles (Ahmed et ridley turtles (Figure 1) were recorded, seven of which al., 1986). Coastal Bangladesh extends from the southeast were within the Dublar char fshing village and included Teknaf peninsula and adjacent St Martin’s Island to three freshly killed individuals and four older carapaces the southwest beaches of the Sundarbans. Te largest partially covered by sand. Two additional carapaces were nesting populations of all species, with the exception of observed in the forest and had been eaten by wild boar. loggerheads, which are not known to nest in Bangladesh, occur on St. Martins Island. Olive ridleys are the most Tere were no indications of entanglement in nets abundant nesting species at this location (Islam, 2002) and around the neck and fippers of dead turtles, although are also reported to nest on the sandy south-face beaches this would have been difcult to observe on older of the Sundarbans in Bangladesh (Gani, 2000). However, carcasses. However, interviews with fshers indicated research and conservation eforts have been mainly that all turtles died afer entanglement in fshing nets confned to St. Martin’s Island with little information and were carried back to the village by fshers with their available about populations in the Sundarbans islands. catch then discarded. Tere was no indication that turtle meat was removed to be eaten before the carcasses were Te Sundarbans is the largest halophytic mangrove discarded. Other turtles were thrown into the sea for fear forest in the world, covering 10,000km2 between of detection by staf of the Forest Department (Marine Bangladesh and India. Te forest includes a maze of turtles known to occur in Bangladesh are included in rivers and creeks fowing from north to south into the the Schedule I of the Bangladesh Wildlife Protection Bay of Bengal, and human communities in north and & Security Act 2012 (MoEF, 2012). Such turtles are east. Of the many isolated forest islands in the south likely washed on to beaches across the Sundarbans. of the Sundarbans, Dublar char (island) is home to thousands of artisanal fshers for six to eight months Te number of dead turtles observed during the every year (Huda & Haque, 2001). Fishers employ a 4-month survey suggests a need to more precisely wide variety of gear, including gillnets (drif, large mesh, quantify bycatch rates and mortality in the area during fxed, and bottom set), estuarine set bag nets, trammel the fshing season (mainly from October to February). nets, beach seines, push nets, drag nets, and diferent Although no butchered turtles were observed in this types of hand-operated gears and traps (Hoq, 2007). study, many communities, including those living in 2 July 2016 Figure 1. Study areas and locations of dead turtles of the Sunderbans coast. the Sundarbans, are known to consume turtle meat also occur. Seine nets were prominent of beaches and trade turtle products (Islam, 2001), so it is also from December-March, which coincides with the possible that live turtles, turtle meat or eggs may be turtle nesting season in Bangladesh from October traded to local markets in Khulna and elsewhere. to April (Islam et al., 2011), whilst activities such as fshing, anchoring, loading and unloading of fshing Disturbance of nesting turtles in the Sundurbans may vessels, drying of fshes, and repairing fshing nets 3 Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter No. 24 were common on the beaches of fshing communities Huda, M.S. & M.E. Haque 2001. Current status of Dublar Char such as that at Dublar char. Observations suggest that winter fshery and options for improvements. Internal Notes– many beaches in Mandarbaria which were previously IN No. 37. Sundarbans Biodiversity Conservation Project, used for turtle nesting (Gani, 2000) are now exposed Bangladesh Forest Department, Khulna, Bangladesh. muddy banks potentially unsuitable for nests. Islam, M.Z. 2001. Notes on the trade in marine turtle products in Bangladesh. Marine Turtle Newsletter 94: 10. Long term ecological monitoring of marine turtle populations and their beach habitats across whole Islam, M.Z. 2002. Marine turtle nesting at St. Martin’s Island, coastal waters of Bangladesh including Sundarbans Bangladesh. Marine Turtle Newsletter 96: 19-22. is strongly recommended. Working with Dublar char fshermen to raise awareness about the ecological Islam, M.Z., F. Ehsan & M.M. Rahman. 2011. Nesting sea turtles importance of turtles and introduce devices to at Sonadia Island, Bangladesh. Marine Turtle Newsletter 130: 19- reduce bycatch, such as LEDs (Ortiz et al., 2016), 22. may help reduce the killing of marine turtles. IUCN. 2016. Te IUCN Red List of Treatened Species. Version 2015-4. Downloaded from www.iucnredlist.org on 09 June ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 2016. Tis survey was carried out during a large-scale Márquez M.R. 1990. Sea turtles of the world. An annotated and tiger study in the Bangladesh Sundarbans that was illustrated catalogue of sea turtle species known to date. FAO supported by Panthera, WildTeam’s BAGH Project, and Species Catalogue, FAO Fisheries Synopsis 11(125): 81 pp. the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission of UK. MoEF (Ministry of Environment and Forests). 2011. Compensation policy for casualties caused by wildlife. Literature cited: Bangladesh Forest Department, MoEF, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Ahmed, B., K.M.N. Huda & G.S.M. Asmat. 1986. Te breeding of the olive ridley. Lepidochelys olivacea Eschscholtz at St. Ortiz N., J.C. Mangel, J. Wang, J. Alfaro-Shigueto, S. Pingo, Martin’s island, Bangladesh. Bangladesh Journal of Zoology 14: A. Jimenez, T. Suarez, Y. Swimmer, F. Carvalho & B.J. Godley. 59-68. 2016. Reducing green turtle bycatch in small-scale fsheries using illuminated gillnets: Te cost of saving a sea turtle. Marine Gani, M.O. 2000. Te olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) Ecology Progress Series 545: 251-259. of the Sunderbans coast. Tigerpaper 27: 7–11. Pandav, B., B.C. Choudhury & C.S. Kar. 1997. Mortality of olive Hoq, M.E. 2007. An analysis of fsheries exploitation and ridley turtles due to incidental capture in fshing nets along the management practices in Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem. Orissa coast, India. Oryx 31: 32-36. Bangladesh. Ocean and Coastal Management 50: 411–427. 4 July 2016 ENTANGLED HAWKSBILL TURTLE SAVED BY FISHERFOLK OF MULOOR, KARNATAKA BINDU SULOCHANAN1#, VEENA. S1, PRATHIBHA ROHIT1 AND V. KRIPA2 1Mangalore Research Centre of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Karnataka, India 2Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, India #[email protected] On October 3rd 2015 the fsherfolk of Muloor, Udupi Turtles of the Indian Subcontinent (eds. Shanker, K & B.C.